Politics

The Supreme Court of NJ decided today against Christie's appeal on his stay request that a lower court judge said marriages for gays and lesbians could start on Monday Oct 21. However the Supreme Court will still hear arguments on Jan 6-7 from Christie in why marriages should be stopped. It's unlikely that will happen which is why the court did not honor the stay.

Glenn Greenwald out at 'The Guardian', will launch new media venture By DYLAN BYERS | politico.com 10/15/13 4:48 PM EDT Glenn Greenwald, the reporter who broke the National Security Agency surveillance story, is leaving The Guardian to start what he described as “very substantial new media outlet," BuzzFeed's Ben Smith reported on Tuesday. The new venture, described by a source familiar with it as "rather extraordinary," will be web-based and funded by a philanthropist, POLITICO has learned. In his interview with Smith, Greenwald said it would have major financial backing and would have hubs in New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. He disclosed no further…

What is so wrong with asking a person who shows up to vote to identify himself with some official form of ID?

It will be interesting to see if history views George W Bush as a puppet of Dick Cheney. But of all the things that Cheney convinced Bush to do, there was one thing that he couldn't convince Bush to do: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/magazine/the-final-insult-in-the-bush-cheney-marriage.html?smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=MG_TFI_20131014&_r=0&pagewanted=all

NSA Surveillance Broke Privacy Rules Thousands Of Times Per Year: Report WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, The Washington Post reported Thursday. Most of the infractions involve unauthorized surveillance of Americans or foreign intelligence targets in the United States, both of which are restricted by law and executive order. They range from significant violations of law to typographical errors that resulted in unintended interception of U.S. emails and telephone calls, the Post said, citing an internal audit an…

Every time I look at the news I get more convinced that Chomsky et al. are right that pols, big business and the media are all in cahoots (wittingly or just lemming-like) to keep us in the dark and not disturb the status quo. Latest example is this piddle-shit new leak at the Hanford site in Washington state, where for many decades we cooked up our plutonium stocks: http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/21/us/washington-hanford-leak/index.html?c=homepage-t This report has it like this is a big new development, and that of course by this public reporting and hand-wringing the press, govt, etc. is on it and will take care of it. What horse shit. I know some of the Bechtel people wh…

Wouldn't it be marvelous? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/06/gop-house-2014-polls_n_4050686.html

A court in New Jersey has denied the request for a stay of the decision to allow same-sex couples to begin marrying October 21. Governor Chris Christie is expected to appeal the decision.

Committee to Protect Journalists issues scathing report on Obama administrationObama's anti-press measures 'are the most aggressive I've seen since the Nixon administration' Beta Glenn Greenwald theguardian.com, Thursday 10 October 2013 11.07 EDT Barack Obama at the White House Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images (updated below) It's hardly news that the Obama administration is intensely and, in many respects, unprecedentedly hostile toward the news-gathering process. Even the most Obama-friendly journals have warned of what they call "Obama's war on whistleblowers". James Goodale, the former general counsel of the New York Times during its epic fights with th…

Well, six of the justices were at the Roman Catholic "Red Mass." This is an annual celebration of the Catholic liturgy where many government officials join in prayer for the members of the judiciary. http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/30/record-number-of-justices-attends-red-mass/ One of the big cases before the Court this term will be Christian prayer at public meetings. Wonder how Roberts plans to vote on that? BTW, now that Pope Francis wants the clergy lowering their bling, why not wear simpler garments and do away with the pointed hats? It sure would be in keeping with the new Church, wouldn't it? Look at Roberts. he is the Chief Justice, but doesn't need a f…

So when this guy closed his business, the government says it was "just short of a crime." Really now. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/us/snowdens-e-mail-provider-discusses-pressure-from-fbi-to-disclose-data.html?hp

In the light of the primary come from behind victory of liberal public Advocate Bill De Blasio, defeating lesbian candidate and Bloomberg protege Christine Quinn, and the rising popularity of Senator Elizabeth Warren, I hope this indicates that liberals are no longer staying quiet. Disheartened at the failure of Obama to maintain his liberal campaign promises- that Hope and Change thing he kept touting- liberals have been too quiet. The NY Times yesterday provided a 30 minute video on why Quinn blew a huge lead: http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/09/26/nyregion/100000002461740/hers-to-lose.html Her support for Bloomberg hurt her, especially as she backed a third term for…

I don't really consider this a political issue although some no doubt will. Friday I was in AVL aka Asheville, NC, a resort town with resort prices. While there and waiting upon my passengers to arrive for the flight back to MEM, several military aircraft arrived. The topic of the day was 12 Bones, a local BBQ joint in the sense of a beer joint. In other words, it was a hole in the wall but had good and cheap food. I did not go there, partly because I don't waste my time on NC BBQ when MEM is the BBQ capital of the world. However, I was surprised by the number of military folks who arrived just to have lunch. Reputedly BO has ordered out from this place. Friday,…

Read this very well written letter to the Governor of Oklahoma who just took away benefits to same sex couples in the National Guard. (I don't think she has the authority to do it, but the courts will have to settle that). Dear Gov. Mary Fallin, I hope that this letter finds you well, and that your day is off to a great start. You may not remember me, so allow me to reintroduce myself to you. I'm Dillon Peña, a former friend and acquaintance of your daughter Christina. I've been to your house in northwest Oklahoma City. I've been to a festival at the Oklahoma River with you. I've broken bread and had dinner with you at Red Rock, and you have even been to church with me…

I think some misguided right wingers in Virginia have forgotten why we had the Revolutionary War. http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/gop-lt-gov-candidate-if-youre-not-christian-youre-engaged-in-some-sort-of-false-religion/politics/2013/09/23/75572#.UkH4KhbPWZM

Here we go again. Another failed foreign policy fiasco in the making. We aren't completely out of Iraq, certainly not out of Afghanistan, Egypt is a disaster, never mind Libya and a few others. I wonder what domestic foul up BO is now trying to cover up by diverting the national attention to Syria. There is no doubt that Syria is a disaster on its' own but I think the US has already had too many turns at bat. Best regards, RA1

The three Arkansas students who were banned from school until they could prove their HIV status have returned to class, and it appears that the school didn’t back down on their illegal actions, so the students likely took the tests. So many people need to lose their jobs over this.

It is highly possible that wikileaks has a strong connection with Russia. Maybe they hand over Snowden to Russia and planned this all along. Why is Greenwald so quiet these days?? Anyways, maybe wikileaks had good intentions when it first started but I don't trust it anymore. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/did-wikileaks-sell-snowden-russians-190031664.html

Am I the only one to notice that John Kerry looks very different than he did years ago? It looks like he's had way too much botox in his forehead. it certainly makes him look more fierce and stern than it used to. Something is off. . .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbra-streisand/why-is-it-easier-to-get-a_b_3876046.html By Barbra Streisand: "A great democracy does not make it harder to vote than to buy an assault weapon." - President Bill Clinton The former president is absolutely right about what a great democracy should do. Unfortunately this is not the case in the United States today. There have always been attempts by conservatives to restrict the franchise. It took women well over a century and painful struggle to get the right to vote. For African Americans in the South, activists were beaten and killed before the federal government stepped in to end "Jim Crow" laws against voting. The…

Well Edward stayed in the Russian consulate for two days back in Hong Kong.. It seems Russia has been more actively involved in aiding Edward. I think he made things more complicated and got himself in trouble by fleeing the US. If he had known how many good americans and foreign recruits die for the country namelessly and forgotten, I believe he could have taken a different path in tackling this matter. Maybe he could have risen to the top position some years later and truly did something inside the organization. I wish he were well advised and had some balance in his decision. http://news.yahoo.com/report-snowden-reached-russia-back-152711934.html

So Miranda carried sensitive documents that could expose the identities of secret agents. I think what he did might justify his detention at the airport. What I don't get is why sensitive documents were carried to Laura and then back? Were they trying to sell or give those documents to a third party? Why didn't Greenwald take on the mission himself? It would be better for him to talk to Laura directly if they are going to write an article. whay do they still need Laura at this point? Anyways, Greenwald is silent these days. Personally, I don't trust wikileaks and those work with them. The only was they would gain my trust is when they reveal the secrets of Russia. I doubt…